


The House on the Hill

by ScarTerrorTheFallen



Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (Disney Movies), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Halloween, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 06:37:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21266672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarTerrorTheFallen/pseuds/ScarTerrorTheFallen
Summary: Halloween is the perfect time for scares and spooks, everyone knows the horror cliché's, but that doesn't mean it makes one wiser. You know what happens when you poke around stuff you shouldn't? Teenagers being teenagers, I guess.





	The House on the Hill

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on FFn.

Anna gulped.

The redhead tilted her umbrella back to look up to the imposing mansion. It's dilapidated and rundown look was scary in the daylight, not to mention how it looked now, in the dark and the biting rain. Most of the old house's windows were cracked or broken outright. Some even boarded up hastily from the outside, almost as if trying to keep something in. For all intents and purposes, it looked like something out of a horror movie.

The five teenagers lingering in the rain outside the fell mansion looked about each other, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Naturally, Hans took the lead. He always wanted to be the leader, the one everyone looked at, the one everyone respected.

"Don't tell me you're scared," Hans goaded as he smirked at her. His expensive fake vampire fangs poked over his lip. He gave his umbrella a little spin and wiggled his eyebrows at his friends.

"Dude, do you even know the history of this place?" Kristoff grumbled, scratching uncomfortably at the fake fur under his wet shirt. His werewolf mask was resting on top of his head rather than wearing, he must have been getting warm under the rubber confines.

"Who cares? It's Halloween! This is the perfect place to get a few scares in!" Eugene laughed and high-fived Hans. The cheaply made ninja outfit he was wearing made him rather hard to see in the dark. Just as he wanted so he could lift candy or more as he passed by.

"You guys can't be serious," Rapunzel said as she scowled, tugging at the wet material of her outfit. She was dressed as a skeleton, a costume no one foresaw her choosing.

"Oi, I think it's bloody brilliant!" Merida cheered with the two more adventurous boys. She went as a bear, a costume everyone foresaw.

Anna just kept staring at the place. Her silken witch's costume was not keeping her very warm in the breeze that started to pick up, but her nervousness was enough to make her shiver. But despite the chill outside, the sight of this house put a deeper one in her bones.

A flash of light illuminated the old wood door as lightning struck off in the distance. The remnants of what might have been gold leaf or some other kind of finery on the paint still lingered but the grand effect had been long lost to time. The clap of thunder came along soon after as the six of them started to make their way in.

Anna's feet seemed to dig into the mud and gravel. Perhaps from apprehension or maybe she simply thought of other things to do. Rapunzel took her by the wrist, dragging her along out of sheer not wanting to be left alone in such a place.

Anna's eyes widened as she saw something move in one of the windows higher up on the house. The attic, she surmised. It was barely a flicker or a shadow in the near light. Still, even just the hint of movement gripped her chest.

"G-guys... I think someone's in there," she stammered and pulled her tattered cloak tighter around herself.

"Ooo... someone's getting into the spirit of things! Was it a ghost? A masked murderer? A scary clown?" Hans exclaimed with gleeful sarcasm. He grinned at her while she scowled in return. With a dramatic flourish, he waved his cape as he turned around and entered through the unlocked door.

The six of them shuffled in, turning around in circles as they looked about the decrepit and ill-kept foyer. Long gone were the days where servants polished floorboards and tended the candles. Now floorboards were rotten and the candles wax stubs.

Slowly they shined their phone's shitty flashlights around the room, drinking in the sights. The light bounced off bits of glass from broken windows and doors to old grandfather cloaks.

With a sudden bang the front door slammed closed. They all jumped or yelped with fear at the sound, even their bold leader. As one they turned towards the door, trying to understand. Most of them, all but Rapunzel and Anna, laughed and blamed it on the wind from the storm outside.

Emboldened by their laughter, they started to move about the foyer. Every step making the uncared for house creak and groan in distress. They drifted apart, each to whatever part of the room struck their fancy, but none willing to stray too far just yet.

"This house had a string of murders happen here. The first was back when it was built. The dad went crazy and axed his family. Then there was a woman that killed her husband and his mistress. Oh, there was this one where a serial killer lived here and he ate his victims," Kristoff said idly as he looked around, as if he were talking about the weather.

Anna started feeling her stomach do flips. She's heard all this before. Sometimes it felt like she's spent her whole life in this town. And anyone living here had heard the rumors. They were less fact than what Kristoff thought. More dark and deranged myth. But everyone knows of the house that sat on a hill overlooking the town. It almost seemed like every horror movie cliché she's ever heard was inspired by this place.

"They say the place is haunted... cursed... that whoever stays here ends up going crazy and has the urge to murder and the taste for blood," Eugene said playfully as he stepped into a different room.

"Anna, you've lived here the longest, any recent murders?" Merida asked with a devil-may-care smirk. Anna scowled at her for a second before looking away.

"Um, not that I can recall..." Anna said quietly.

A crash from upstairs startled them more than they would like. Eugene rushed back, looking a bit more frightened than his cocky and cool attitude would like to appear.

"What was that?" Rapunzel asked, a little panicked.

"Probably just the wind blowing something over. A house like this has to have a missing window," Kristoff reassured her, though all eyes were still on the ceiling above them.

However, dread grew within them as small creaks came from the wooden planks. Slowly the sound moved across the ceiling, making the all follow slowly their gaze. What sounded like footsteps came to a halt, right directly above them, drawing a stifled gasp from the group.

"I told you someone was here!" Anna whispered harshly at Hans.

"We'll go check it out," Hans said, frowning at the thought someone could be ruining their fun. He grabbed Eugene to head up the stairs to investigate and confront their would-be trickster. Merida followed close on their heels as she was never one to let the boys have all the fun.

"I'll stay here and protect Anna and Rapunzel," Kristoff said with fake bravado. Anna and Rapunzel both rolled their eyes. Their hero. They could hear the other group walking upstairs but their attentions were pulled to the hallway that seemed to stretch for miles into the black.

In the dark there seemed two glowing eyes staring back at them. Their phone lights could illuminate anything distinguishable, but something was back there and looking right at them. Anna swallowed nervously and took a step towards it but Kristoff and Rapunzel clung to her arms, preventing her from getting closer.

"I-It's probably just a cat," Anna said softly.

"It's too high up to be a cat," Kristoff whispered.

Lightning flashed again, illuminating the dining room next to them and throwing all kinds of shadows across the floor, making them all look over in surprise and fear. The peal of thunder across the skies made them jump apart but Rapunzel clung hard to Kristoff for comfort.

When they looked back down the hallway and raised their phone lights up, the eyes were gone.

"I'm still going with cat," Anna said as she exhaled, adjusting her vice like grip on her bag. She walked into the hall and cast her light on all the ruined paintings and portraits. Neither of her friends seemed to share her relaxed state, standing stock still in the foyer, almost shivering with fear.

Upstairs, the three of them had decided to split up, cover more ground they reasoned. There were three wood doors down the hallway and a ratty old rug running along the floor. Without even speaking, they decided to choose a door each. Hans took the nearest one on the left, Eugene the middle one on the right, and Merida would take the far one at the end of the hall.

Hans pushed open the heavy door, wincing at the bone chilling creak it let out. But what he found was worth the small bit of terror he just caused himself. It was what once must have been a grand study. A whole wall was one big bookcase with one of the rolling ladders to get to the highest reaches, though most of the shelves were broken and any books left looked like that had decayed and rotted over time.

Just off center was a massive table, no, a desk. A desk that would make anyone feel like a king sitting behind it. There was no chair to sit on, at least none he could see, so he settled with standing behind it, running his hands over the cracked wood.

"Now this is a desk meant for a very important man," he said, briefly wondering if it belonged to the original owner. Did he make this mansion and put this desk in to be the king of his own castle? Hans could relate to that desire.

Slowly, his fingers felt something odd on the wood and turned his light downward to inspect it. Deep, violent grooves in the wood, causing the surface to splinter up. Its shape confused him. Only time he had seen marks like that was from… Hans swallowed uneasily. Only time he had seen marks like that, it was from an axe.

While he pondered that, something hit his back between the shoulder blades. A hand, perhaps? He felt a strong push and ended up face down on the desk. He cursed and grunted, trying to get free but whatever was holding him down was far stronger than him. The jagged shards of the wood cut into his cheek, making him hiss in pain.

"Hey man, what gives?" he hissed angrily.

The light of his phone caught a flash of metal as a hatchet was buried into the wood mere centimeters from his nose. Every panicked breath of his fogged up the tempered steel.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it was over. The pressure on his back was gone. He stood upright fast and looked around, shining his light into every corner of the room in one smooth sweep. From the door to the window. But there was nothing. He sighed in relief and turned back to the door.

Hans yelled in fright and tossed his phone. It bounced off the desk and him him on the foot. He could've sworn he saw someone there. Someone tall, too tall to be possible and with big black eyes. He didn't know what he saw. All he knew was that he needed his phone right now and needed his heart rate to drop down below 200.

He reached down and picked it back up, carefully looking around the room again. This was more than he bargained for when they agreed to come here. His eyes lingered on the hatchet in the desk. If people were going to be messing around like that, he wasn't walking around empty handed.

The hatchet was buried in far deeper than he could even imagine. Fit with how they could hold an athlete like him down like that. He put his foot up on the desk, grabbed the hatchet again and pulled, finally ripping it free.

Hans made to leave the room but the door was closed. Which was weird, because he didn't close it when he came in. His hand felt cold and clammy as he tried to turn the knob but it wouldn't budge. He was locked in.

Eugene found himself in a grand bedroom. One far better than he had ever slept in. His opportunistic mind briefly wondered if there was still jewelry or valuables left from previous owners. After all, a house like this only owned by rich people and rich people had a ton of over high price objects.

"Surrounded by enormous piles of money…" he sang to himself as he rifled through a few drawers.

But like the state of the rest of the house, there was nothing of note or really of value to take. He did find a drawer with some old copper rings left behind in it. Not worth selling but a good souvenir and a better story. It wasn't like there was anyone to miss this old stuff.

"One man's forgotten treasure is another man's-ack!" Eugene yelped as he felt something thin and metallic wrap around his neck. He tried to claw at it but it was braided wire. He stood in front of a vanity mirror but he couldn't move to see his attacker in it. Eugene silently choked and clawed desperately to get free.

Spots formed in his vision and his phone slipped from his other hand. His struggling started to dwindle and soon he went limp, crashing to the ground. The last thing he saw before blacking out was someone walking away.

Merida brashly pushed the door at the end of the hall open. Despite her bravado, she wished she hadn't gone in there. What was probably once a trophy room showing off the spoils of hunts gone by, it was now a macabre display of weathered and rotten taxidermied beasts.

She shone her light around, trying not to linger too much. She didn't even know what she was supposed to be looking for or was the journey was supposed to be the treasure.

"Talk about creepy," she said as she walked around. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the dark corner and revealing a giant snarling bear. A scream almost escaped her throat but she swallowed it before it could escape. At realizing what it was she chuckled to herself and got closer to examine it. It was a bit more convincing than her novelty costume.

Thunder rumbled, making her jump again. She glanced back at the bear as it toppled forward quick and hard, slamming her to the floor. She cried out in pain as the claws slowly started to pierce the shitty material of her costume. She tried to call out for help but the bear had knocked the air from her lungs.

Off to the side, she saw a pair of legs start to enter her vision. She flailed and pushed harder on the bear but she couldn't lift it up at all. Her biggest fear that the claws would perforate the costume and then sink into her next.

"Quick! Help a lass up!" Merida gasped out, only to scream weekly as the person stepped on top of the bear and pushed down. Merida moved her head to the side, out from under the bear and found herself face to face with a mask. A white rabbit mask with big black eyes staring soullessly at her.

Hans tried to force the lock on his door but it wasn't budging. Despite the state the house was in, the door was holding fast. Merida's scream filled the house. He looked at the hatchet in his hand and made a decision. He needed to get out of this room.

"Fuck this door! Merida!" He yelled loudly and started swinging it at the door around the handle until he could break the lock out. Chunks of wood started to chip off and fall away but the old wood was resilient and he was quickly wearing himself out. Finally, the lock seemed to move a bit and he brought his foot up and breaking the handle off.

Hans, panting and tired, ran down the hall to where Merida should be. He knocked open that door with his shoulder and raised his phone up. Illuminated within that den of horrors was a pool of blood on the ground, drag marks, and a gory looking bear standing in the corner. But no Merida.

"Hans!"

He turned to the door at the sound of his name. No one was there but it sounded like it came from down stairs. It sounded like Kristoff and Rapunzel, where was Anna? Panicking, he rushed down stairs to find the two looking like they saw a ghost.

"Something grabbed Anna!"

"We heard Merida scream!"

They shouted at him at the same time, overloading his already terrified mind.

"Where's Eugene?" Rapunzel asked crying.

"Why do you have an axe?" Kristoff asked panicked.

"Calm down! We need to be calm!" Hans tried to say between the many questions. The three of them gasped and jumped as they heard another scream.

"Anna!" Kristoff yelled and rushed off to the direction it came from, running deeper into the mansion. Down the hallway that had the eyes and into the darkness.

"Kristoff! Fuck that man, we need to stick together," Hans hissed.

"We should call the cops," Rapunzel sobbed and Hans perked up. That was a brilliant idea! He looked to his phone but cursed as he saw there was no signal. Of course there fucking wasn't.

"Look, Rapunzel, there's no cell service here. I'm going to ask you to run to the police station," Hans said as calmly and as soothingly as he could. He took her by the elbow and gently led her to the front door. Anyone could see she was second before breaking down. With the other hand he tried the knob but just like upstairs, it wasn't opening.

"What the fuck is with this place?!" he demanded, losing his cool for a second. Rapunzel burst into tears and started hyperventilating. And as if things couldn't get worse at the moment, they heard Kristoff scream. Hans shook his head and took off running, assuming that Rapunzel would follow.

She didn't.

It was all too much for her. She whimpered and curled up in a ball at the foot of the stairs. She just wanted this nightmare to end. A pair of legs stepped in front of her, scaring her immensely. Rapunzel scrambled backwards up a few steps while the person leaned forward. Her hand shook as she raised her phone upward, illuminating the white rabbit mask.

Hans stopped short when he heard Rapunzel scream in terror. He was lost and confused and didn't know who to go for. Ranking the lives of his friends to save was not actually something he had done before.

"Hans."

Hans jumped again, away from a door he didn't even realize was there. Worry, fear, and happiness washed over him at seeing Merida leaning heavily against the door frame. But then he saw the blood. Her arms were wrapped around her waist and her clothes seemed wet with it.

"Oh my god, Merida! What happened?" He asked worriedly. He put his arm around her and helped into what turned out to be the kitchen.

"Someone bloody fucking toppled a bear onto me and then proceeded to shove it deeper before dragging me away," she gasped and hissed when he tried to move her arm.

"Did you see who it was?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Fucker was wearing a mask. Looked like a rabbit," she panted. Hans' heart tripled in speed. That's what he saw in a flash in the study with him. They startled when they heard Kristoff scream once more.

"Go to the big lug, I'll be here, don't think I'd be much help," Merida said and Hans looked unsure.

"Go!" Merida yelled and he nodded before running off.

The bleeding woman sighed and tried to get more comfortable but her wounds had sapped so much of her energy already so she just slumped to the side as she fought to keep awake.

Her eyes closed momentarily, but opened again when she heard someone enter the kitchen. Of course he came back. Always had to be a hero to the ladies. But when the figure entered her view from the dimming light of her phone, all she could see was the rabbit mask.

Something caught the light and a harsh cut opened on her cheek, sending her face first onto the ground. Merida rolled over onto her back, gasping and hissing in pain. Once again, the white rabbit mask crouched down and leaned in close. Merida shut her eyes and fearfully whimpered.

"Kristoff! Where are you?" Hans yelled as he entered what looked like a tiny ballroom. In the middle of the once pristine floor was a lump that did not belong there. Hans rushed over and turned the big guy onto his back.

He fumbled his phone and managed to spot a number of injuries on Kristoff's person. He looked up and saw a balcony ringing the room. It wasn't hard to put together what happened. Kristoff managed to open his eyes.

"Stay…away from the rabbit," he choked out, his breathing erratic as he slipped unconscious.

"Rabbit? You were attacked by someone in a rabbit mask too?" Hans asked but Kristoff's grip on his shirt had loosened and his head dropped backwards.

"Fuck," Hans cursed as he looked down. He had to keep himself from crying and giving into the fear. He took a few calming breaths as he laid Kristoff down. Shuffling in front of him drew his attention.

"You!" He hissed at seeing the figure stand there with a tilted head, wearing the stupid rabbit mask. He saw the glint of a knife, blood dripping from it.

"I'm going to kill you," Hans growled as he gripped the axe tighter and stood. The rabbit figure turned and ran, Hans gave chase.

"Get back here and fight me like a man!" Hans yelled and found himself back in the foyer where he left Rapunzel. He seethed as he turned around to try and see where the person went.

Lighting struck outside along with thunder and he fell back as the illumination revealed Rapunzel to him. She was hanged from the banister upstairs. It was frightening to see her there, lifeless. His attention drew back in front of him as he saw the rabbit stand there.

He wanted to get up and attack, but there were hands gripping his shoulders, forcing him into his back. He gasped and looked up to see another rabbit mask. There were two of them?!

The other rabbit walked closer and straddled his kicking legs, pinning him down. He cursed and yelped as it raised the bloody knife. Lighting struck again, glinting off the blade, but all went black before he ever saw it come down.

The night went silent and all seemed to have gone back to normal, but Hans managed to open his eyes. Everything hurt and he knew he needed medical attention. When the hazy fog of unconsciousness dissipated he frowned. He was no longer in the foyer, but it looked more like a basement.

There were a few candles lit and he noticed the bodies of the other two men laying next to him. They started stirring and groaning and Hans's attention was drawn to the rabbit figures in front of them. He briefly worried about where the girls were, or rather where Merida was. Rapunzel was dead and he's sure Anna was too.

The taller of the rabbit persons tilted their heads and two more rabbit masks joined them. Hans wanted to speak but the tilted one removed it's mask to reveal glowing ice blue eyes. He's never seen this woman before. His heart started beating out of his chest as the others moved their masks too.

"Anna? Rapunzel? Merida? But how?" Hans asked confused. His breathing increased as he realized they looked wrong. Their eyes were glowing and Merida and Rapunzel looked like they were agitated.

The unknown female figure smiled, showing sharp fangs.

"Good work my dears, I think you deserve your rewards," she said in a husky voice. Hans's eyes widened as the men either side of him screamed. Rapunzel and Merida had moved so fast. Their growls drowned out by the other two screaming as the girls ripped into their necks.

Hans felt faint as blood splattered onto him and he couldn't even scream when Anna and the other woman descended onto him.


End file.
